Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China

By Todd KuhnsLast Updated on Feb 26, 2010
Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China

Release Date: 02-26-2010

Source: China.com

Chinese Title: 中华人民共和国著作权法 (2010修正)

Presidential Decree No. 26

Passed by the 15th Session of the Standing Committee of the 7th National People’s Congress on 7 September 1990

First revision pursuant to the Decision on Revision of the “Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China” made by the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People’s Congress on 27 October 2001

Second revision pursuant to the Decision on Revision of the “Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China” made by the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress on 26 February 2010

26 February 2010

CHAPTER 1 — GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 1 This Law is formulated pursuant to the Constitution for the purposes of protecting copyrights and copyright-related rights and interests of authors of literary, artistic and scientific works, encouraging creation and transmission of works which are beneficial to development of socialist spiritual and material civilisation, and promoting development and prosperity of socialist cultural and scientific undertakings.

Article 2 Works of Chinese citizens, legal persons or other organisations shall, regardless if they are published or not, enjoy copyright pursuant to this Law.

Copyrights of works of foreigners and Stateless persons vested pursuant to the agreement entered into between the home country or the country of habitual residence of the author and China or the international treaty to which the home country or the country of habitual residence of the author and China are participants shall be protected by this Law.

Works of foreigners and Stateless persons first published in China shall enjoy copyright pursuant to this Law.

Works of authors from a country which has not entered into an agreement with China or participated in an international treaty to which China is a participant and Stateless persons, which are first published in a member country of an international treaty to which China is a participant or are simultaneously published in a member country and a non-member country, shall be protected by this Law.

Article 3 Works referred to in this Law shall include literature, art and natural science, social science, engineering and technical works created in the following forms:

(1) Written works;

(2) Oral works;

(3) Musical, dramatic, opera, dance, acrobatic artistic works;

(4) Art, architectural works;

(5) Photographic works;

(6) Film works and works created using methods similar to film making;

(7) Graphic works and model works such as engineering design plan, product design plan, map, schematic diagram, etc;

(8) Computer software; and

(9) Any other works stipulated by laws and administrative regulations.

Article 4 Copyright holders exercising copyright shall not violate the Constitution and the laws or harm public interest. The State shall implement supervision and administration over publication and transmission of works pursuant to the law.

Article 5 This Law shall not apply to:

(1) Laws, regulations, resolutions, decisions and orders of State agencies, other legislative, administrative and judicial documents, and the official translation thereof;

(2) Current affairs news; and

(3) Calendar system, general tables, general forms and formulae.

Article 6 Measures for protection of copyright of folk literature and art works shall be separately stipulated by the State Council.

Article 7 The copyright administrative authorities of the State Council shall be responsible for administration of copyright nationwide; the copyright administrative authorities of the People’s Governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-administered municipalities shall be responsible for administration of copyright within their administrative region.

Article 8 Copyright holders and holders of copyright-related rights may authorise a copyright collective management organisation to exercise the copyright or copyright-related rights. The copyright collective management organisation may, upon being authorised, claim rights in its own name for the copyright holder and the holder of copyright-related rights, and may be involved in litigation and arbitration activities of such copyright or copyright-related rights in the capacity of a party concerned.

A copyright collective management organisation is a non-profit organisation, and its establishment method, rights and obligations, collection and distribution of copyright licence fees, and supervision and administration thereof shall be separately stipulated by the State Council.

Article 9 Copyright holders shall include:

(1) Authors; and

(2) Any other citizens, legal persons or organisations that enjoy copyright pursuant to this Law.

Article 10 Copyright shall include the following personal rights and property rights:

(1) Publication right, ie the right to decide whether a work is made public;

(2) Right of authorship, ie the right to be named as author of a work;

(3) Right of revision, ie the right to revise a work or to authorise others to revise a work;

(4) Right to preserve the integrity of work, ie the right to protect a work from distortion or tampering;

(5) Reproduction right, ie the right to reproduce one or more copies of a work by printing, photocopying, rubbing, audio recording, video recording, duplication, photographic reproduction, etc;

(6) Distribution right, ie the right to provide the original copy or replicas of a work to the public by sale or gift;

(7) Rental right, ie the right to license the temporary use of film works, works created using methods similar to film making and computer software by others for a fee, except where the computer software is not the main subject of lease;

(8) Exhibition right, ie the right to put the original copy or replicas of art works and photographic works on public display;

(9) Performance right, ie the right to put up a public performance of a work and publicly broadcast performance of a work through various means;

(10) Screening right, ie the right to put up a public screening of art works, photographic works, film works, works created using methods similar to film making, etc through technical equipment such as film projector, slide projector, etc;

(11) Broadcasting right, ie the right to publicly broadcast or transmit a work through wireless method, the right to transmit or broadcast a work to the public through cable or relay broadcast, and the right to transmit or broadcast a work to the public through a loudspeaker or other tools for transmission of symbols, sounds and images;

(12) Information network transmission right, ie the right to provide a work to the public through cable or wireless method so that the public may have access to the work at their individually selected time and venue;

(13) Filming right, ie the right to produce a work on a medium through film making or methods similar to film making;

(14) Adaptation right, ie the right to adapt a work, thus creating a new work with originality;

(15) Translation right, ie the right to convert the written text of a work from one language to another language;

(16) Compilation right, ie the right to select or arrange a work or parts of a work for compilation into a new work; and

(17) Any other rights enjoyed by a copyright holder.

A copyright holder may license others to exercise the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the preceding paragraph, and receive remuneration pursuant to the agreement or the relevant provisions of this Law.

A copyright holder may transfer all or some of the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of this Article, and receive remuneration pursuant to the agreement or the relevant provisions of this Law.

Article 11 Copyright shall belong to the author, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law.

The author of a work shall be the citizen who has created the work.

Where a work is organised by a legal person or any other organisation, created on behalf of the legal person or the organisation, and for which the legal person or the organisation bears responsibility, the legal person or the organisation shall be deemed as the author.

Where there is no evidence to the contrary, the citizen, legal person or organisation whose name is stated on the work shall be deemed as the author.

Article 12 The copyright of a work created from adaptation, translation, annotation or collation of an existing work shall belong to the person who undertakes adaptation, translation, annotation or collation, provided that the copyright of the original work shall not be infringed at the time of exercise of copyright by the person who undertakes the adaptation, translation, annotation or collation.

Article 13 The copyright of a work jointly created by two or more persons shall be co-owned by the co-authors. A person who has not participated in the creation shall not be regarded as a co-author.

Where a co-authored work can be used separately, a co-author may enjoy independent copyright to the portion created by him/her, provided that the overall copyright of the co-authored work shall not be infringed at the time of his/her exercise of copyright.

Article 14 Compilation of several works, parts of a work or data or other materials which do not constitute a work by selection or arrangement of contents thereof into a work with originality shall be regarded as a compilation work; the copyright of the compilation work shall belong to the person who undertakes the compilation, provided that the copyright of the original work shall not be infringed at the time of his/her exercise of copyright.

Article 15 The copyright of film works and works created using methods similar to film making shall belong to the producers; however, the playwright, director, photographer, lyricist, composer, etc who have the right of authorship shall have the right to receive remuneration pursuant to the contract executed with the producer.

The author of works which may be independently used such as script, score, etc in film works and works created using methods similar to film making, etc shall have the right to exercise his/her copyright independently.

Article 16 A work created by a citizen during his/her completion of work assignment for a legal person or any other organisation shall be regarded as a work created in the course of employment; the copyright shall belong to the author, except where stipulated in the second paragraph of this Article, provided that the legal person or the organisation shall have the right of priority use within its scope of business. The author shall not license a third party to use the work in the same way as his/her organisation within two years from completion of the work without the consent of his/her organisation.

The author of the following works created in the course of employment shall have the right of authorship; other rights pertaining to copyright shall belong to the legal person or any other organisation; the legal person or the organisation may reward the author:

(1) Works created in the course of employment such as engineering design plan, product design plan, map, computer software, etc which are created primarily with the use of material and technical conditions of the legal person or the organisation and for which the legal person or the organisation bears responsibility; or

(2) Works created in the course of employment whose copyright belongs to the legal person or the organisation pursuant to the provisions of laws, and administrative regulations or contractual agreement.

Article 17 Attribution of copyright of a commissioned work shall be agreed between the principal and the commissioned party through contractual agreement. Where the contract does not specify an agreement or where there is no contract, the copyright shall belong to the commissioned party.

Article 18Transfer of ownership of the original copy of an art work, etc shall not be deemed as transfer of copyright, but the exhibition right for the original copy of the art work shall belong to the owner of the original copy.

Article 19 In the event of death of the citizen who owns the copyright of a work, the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law shall be transferred pursuant to the provisions of PRC, Inheritance Law during the period of protection stipulated in this Law.

In the event of change or termination of a legal person or an organisation which owns the copyright of a work, during the period of protection stipulated in this Law, the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law shall belong to the legal person or the organisation which succeeds the rights and obligations; where there is no legal person or organisation which succeeds the rights and obligations, the copyright shall belong to the State.

Section 3 — Period of Protection of Rights

Article 20 The period of protection of right of authorship, right of revision, right to preserve the integrity of work of an author shall not be subject to restriction.

Article 21 The period of protection of publication rights of works of citizens and the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law shall be the entire life span of the author and 50 years following his/her death, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the author’s death; in the case of co-authored works, the period of protection shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the death of the last surviving author.

The period of protection of publication rights of works of a legal person or any other organisation and works created in the course of employment in which copyright (except for right of authorship) belongs to a legal person or any other organisation, and the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the first publication of the work; where the work is not published within 50 years from completion of the creation of the work, it shall not be protected by this Law.

The period of protection of publication rights of film works, works created using methods similar to film making and photographic works and the rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the first publication of the work; where the work is not published within 50 years from completion of the creation of the work, it shall not be protected by this Law.

Section 4 — Restriction of Rights

Article 22 Use of a work under the following circumstances does not require licensing by the copyright holder and remuneration need not be paid, provided that the name of the author and the title of the work shall be stated, and other rights enjoyed by the copyright holder pursuant to this Law shall not be infringed:

(1) Use of a work published by others for personal learning, research or appreciation;

(2) Appropriate citation of a work published by others in a work for the purpose of introduction or commentary of a certain work or explanation of a certain issue;

(3) Inevitable reproduction or citation of a published work on media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc for reporting of current affairs news;

(4) Publication or broadcast by media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc of articles on current affairs pertaining to politics, economics, religious issues published by other media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc, except where the author has stated that publication or broadcast is not permitted;

(5) Publication or broadcast by media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc of speeches made at public meetings, except where the author has stated that publication or broadcast is not permitted;

(6) Translation or replication in small quantity of published works for use by teaching or scientific research personnel in classroom teaching or scientific research at schools, provided that publication and distribution shall be prohibited;

(7) Use of published works by State agencies within a reasonable scope for execution of official duties;

(8) Replication by libraries, archives, memorials, museums, art galleries, etc of works collected by them for the purpose of display or preservation;

(9) Gratis performance of published works to the public for free and no remuneration is paid to the performers;

(10) Copying, drawing, photographing and video recording of art works installed or displayed at outdoor public premises;

(11) Translation of Chinese language works published by Chinese citizens, legal persons or any other organisations into minority language works for publication and distribution in China; and

(12) Translation of published works into Braille for publication.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to restriction of rights of publishers, performers, producers of audio-visual recordings, radio stations and television stations.

Article 23 In respect of compilation and publication of textbooks for the purpose of implementation of nine-year compulsory education and national education planning, except where the author has stated prohibition of use beforehand, compilation of parts of published works or short literary works, musical works or single art work or photographic works in textbooks shall not require licensing by the copyright holder, provided that remuneration shall be paid pursuant to the provisions, the name of the author and the title of the work shall be stated, and other rights enjoyed by the copyright holder pursuant to this Law shall not be infringed.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to restriction of rights of publishers, performers, producers of audio-visual recordings, radio stations and television stations.

Article 24 A contract licensing usage shall be concluded with the copyright holder for use of the work of others, except for circumstances under which licensing is not required pursuant to the provisions of this Law.

A contract licensing usage shall include the following main contents:

(1) Type of rights licensed for usage;

(2) Where the rights licensed for usage are exclusive or non-exclusive rights;

(3) Geographical scope and period of licensing usage;

(4) Standards and method for payment of remuneration;

(5) Default liability; and

(6) Any other contents deemed necessary by both parties to be agreed.

Article 25 A written contract shall be concluded for transfer of rights stipulated in item (5) to item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law.

A rights transfer contract shall include the following main contents:

(1) Name of the work;

(2) Type of rights transferred, geographical scope;

(3) Transfer price;

(4) Date and method for payment of transfer price;

(5) Default liability; and

(6) Any other contents deemed necessary by both parties to be agreed.

Article 26 In the event of pledge of copyright, the pledgor and the pledgee shall complete pledge registration formalities with the copyright administrative authorities of the State Council.

Article 27 Rights not specified by the copyright holder for licensing and transfer in a contract licensing usage and transfer contract shall not be exercised by the counterparty without the consent of the copyright holder.

Article 28 The standards for payment of remuneration for use of the work may be agreed by the parties concerned, or the parties concerned may pay remuneration pursuant to the standards for payment of remuneration formulated by the copyright administrative authorities of the State Council jointly with the relevant authorities. Where there is no specific agreement between the parties concerned, remuneration shall be paid pursuant to the standards for payment of remuneration formulated by the copyright administrative authorities of the State Council jointly with the relevant authorities.

Article 29 Use of others’ works by publishers, performers, producers of audio-visual recordings, radio stations, television stations, etc pursuant to the relevant provisions of this Law shall not infringe the author’s right of authorship, right of revision, right to preserve the integrity of work and right to receive remuneration.

CHAPTER 4 — PUBLICATION, PERFORMANCE, AUDIO-VISUAL RECORDING, BROADCASTING

Section 1 — Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals

Article 30 A book publisher proposing to publish a book shall enter into a publishing contract with the copyright holder and pay remuneration.

Article 31 The exclusive publication right of the book publisher in respect of publication of a work delivered by the copyright holder pursuant to contractual agreement shall be protected by the law, and others shall not publish the work.

Article 32 The copyright holder shall deliver the work within the period stipulated in the contract. The book publisher shall publish the books pursuant to the publication quality and deadline stipulated in the contract.

Where the book publisher failed to publish the books within the period stipulated in the contract, it shall bear civil liability pursuant to the provisions of Article 54 of this Law.

The book publisher shall notify the copyright holder of reprint or publication of new edition of the work, and pay remuneration. Where the book publisher refuses to reprint or publish a new edition after the books are sold out, the copyright holder shall have the right to terminate the contract.

Article 33 Where a copyright holder has submitted his/her manuscript to a newspaper publisher or periodical publisher but is not notified by the newspaper publisher of the decision to publish the manuscript within 15 days from the date of submission of the manuscript, or is not notified by the periodical publisher of the decision to publish the manuscript within 30 days from the date of submission of the manuscript, he/she may submit the same manuscript to another newspaper publisher or periodical publisher, unless otherwise agreed between both parties.

Upon publication of the work, unless the copyright holder states that the work shall not be reprinted or extracted, other newspaper or periodical publishers may reprint the work or publish the work in the form of digest or material, but remuneration shall be paid to the copyright holder pursuant to the provisions.

Article 34 Subject to the consent of the author, a book publisher may make modification or deletion to the work.

Newspaper and periodical publishers may make modification or deletion to the text of a work. Modification of contents shall be subject to the consent of the author.

Article 35 For publication of a work created from adaptation, translation, annotation, collation or compilation of an existing work, the consent of the copyright holder of the adapted, translated, annotated, collated or compiled work and the consent of the copyright holder of the original work shall be obtained, and remuneration shall be paid.

Article 36 A publisher shall have the right to license or prohibit the use by others of layout designs of books and periodicals published by the publisher.

The period of protection of the rights stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be 10 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 10th year following the first publication of the book or periodical which uses the said layout design.

Section 2 — Performances

Article 37 The consent of the copyright holder shall be obtained by the performers (actors, performance units) for performance of others’ work, and remuneration shall be paid. The organiser of a performance shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder, and remuneration shall be paid.

For performance of a work created from adaptation, translation, annotation or collation of an existing work, the consent of the copyright holder of the adapted, translated, annotated or collated work and the consent of the copyright holder of the original work shall be obtained, and remuneration shall be paid.

Article 38 Performers shall enjoy the following rights in their performance:

(1) State the identity of the performers;

(2) Protect the image of the performance from distortion;

(3) License others to make live broadcast and public transmission of a live performance, and receive remuneration;

(4) License others to make audio-visual recording, and receive remuneration;

(5) License others to replicate or distribute audio-visual recordings which contain the performance, and receive remuneration; and

(6) License others to transmit the performance to the public through information network, and receive remuneration.

A licensee who uses a work in a manner stipulated in item (3) to item (6) of the preceding paragraph shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder, and pay remuneration.

Article 39 The period of protection of the rights stipulated in item (1) and item (2) of the first paragraph of Article 38 of this Law shall not be subject to restriction.

The period of protection of the rights stipulated in item (3) to item (6) of the first paragraph of Article 38 of this Law shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the performance.

Section 3 — Audio-visual Recordings

Article 40 Producers of audio-visual recordings who use others’ works for production of audio-visual recordings shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder, and pay remuneration.

Producers of audio-visual recordings who use a work created from adaptation, translation, annotation or collation of an existing work shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder of the adapted, translated, annotated or collated work and the consent of the copyright holder of the original work, and pay remuneration.

The consent of the copyright holder is not required for use of others’ musical works which are already legitimately recorded as audio recordings in the production of audio recordings, but the producer of audio recordings shall pay remuneration pursuant to the provisions; such musical work shall not be used where the copyright holder has stated that the use of the musical work is not permitted.

Article 41 Producers of audio-visual recordings shall enter into a contract with the performers for production of audio-visual recordings, and pay remuneration.

Article 42 Producers of audio-visual recordings shall have the right to license replication, distribution or lease of their audio-visual recordings by others or transmission of their audio-visual recordings to the public through information network by others and to receive remuneration; the period of protection of the rights shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following completion of the first production of the said product.

The consent of the copyright holder and the performers shall be obtained for replication or distribution of audio-visual recordings by a licensee or transmission of audio-visual recordings to the public through information network by a licensee, and remuneration shall be paid.

Section 4 — Radio and Television Broadcasting

Article 43 The consent of the copyright holder shall be obtained for broadcast of others’ unpublished works by radio and television stations, and remuneration shall be paid.

The consent of the copyright holder is not required for broadcast of others’ published works by radio and television stations, but remuneration shall be paid.

Article 44 Unless otherwise agreed between the parties concerned, the consent of the copyright holder is not required for broadcast of published audio recordings by radio and television stations, but remuneration shall be paid. Detailed measures shall be stipulated by the State Council.

Article 45 Radio and television stations shall have the right to prohibit the following unauthorised acts:

(1) Transmission of their broadcasted radio and television programmes; and

(2) Recording of their broadcasted radio and television programmes on audio-visual media and replication of such audio-visual media.

The period of protection of the rights stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the first broadcast on radio or television.

Article 46 A television station proposing to broadcast others’ film works and works created using methods similar to film making and visual recordings shall obtain the consent of the film producer or producer of visual recordings, and pay remuneration; the consent of the copyright holder shall also be obtained for broadcast of others’ visual recordings, and remuneration shall be paid.

Article 47 Persons who have committed the following infringement acts shall bear civil liability to stop infringement, eliminate impact, apologise, compensate losses, etc in accordance with the circumstances:

(1) Publication of a work without the consent of the copyright holder;

(2) Publication of a work jointly created with others as a personal independently created work without the consent of the co-author(s);

(3) Passing off as author of others’ work without participating in the creation of the work to seek personal fame and fortune;

(4) Distortion of or tampering with others’ work;

(5) Plagiarism of others’ work;

(6) Use of a work in the form of exhibition, film making and any other methods similar to film making without the consent of the copyright holder, or use of a work in the form of adaptation, translation, annotation, etc, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(7) Failure to pay remuneration which should have paid for use of others’ work;

(8) Lease of a film work or a work created using methods similar to film making or computer software or audio-visual recordings without the consent of the copyright holder of such works or the holder of copyright-related rights, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(9) Use of the layout design of a book or a periodical without the consent of the book publisher or periodical publisher;

(10) Live broadcast or public transmission of a live performance or recording of the performance without the consent of the performers; and

(11) Any other acts which infringe upon copyright and copyright-related rights and interests.

Article 48 Persons who have committed the following infringement acts shall bear civil liability to stop infringement, eliminate impact, apologise, compensate losses, etc in accordance with the circumstances; where public interest is also compromised, the copyright administrative authorities may order the offender to stop infringement acts, confiscate illegal income, confiscate and destroy infringing replicas, and may impose a fine; where the case is serious, the copyright administrative authorities may also confiscate the materials, tools, equipment, etc mainly used for production of the infringing replicas; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law:

(1) Reproduction, distribution, performance, screening, broadcasting, compilation or transmission of others’ works to the public through information network without the consent of the copyright holder, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(2) Publication of books for which another party has exclusive publication rights;

(3) Reproduction or distribution of audio-visual recordings of a performance or transmission of the performance to the public through information network without the consent of the performers, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(4) Reproduction or distribution of audio-visual recordings or transmission of audio-visual recordings to the public through information network without the consent of the producers of audio-visual recordings, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(5) Broadcast or reproduction of radio and television programmes without the consent, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(6) Intentional circumvention or sabotage of the technical measures adopted by rights holders for protection of the copyright or copyright-related rights of their works, audio-visual recordings, etc without the consent of the copyright holder or the holder of copyright-related rights, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and administrative regulations;

(7) Intentional deletion or alteration of electronic data for rights management of works, audio-visual recordings, etc without the consent of the copyright holder or the holder of copyright-related rights, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and administrative regulations; and

(8) Passing off others’ works and production or sale of such works.

Article 49 In the case of infringement of copyright or copyright-related rights, the infringer shall make compensation based on the actual losses of the rights holder; where it is difficult to compute the actual losses, compensation shall be made based on the illegal income of the infringer. The compensation amount shall also include reasonable expenses incurred by the rights holder to stop the infringement act.

Where it is impossible to determine the actual losses of the rights holder or the illegal income of the infringer, a People’s Court shall rule on a compensation of not more than RMB500,000 in accordance with the extent of the infringement act.

Article 50 Where a copyright holder or a holder of copyright-related rights has evidence to prove an ongoing or impending infringement act of his/her rights, and that his/her legitimate rights and interests will suffer irreparable damages if the infringement act is not promptly stopped, he/she may, prior to filing a lawsuit, apply to a People’s Court for a court order to stop the relevant acts and property preservation measures.

The provisions of Article 93 to Article 96 and Article 99 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China shall apply when an application in the preceding paragraph is processed by a People’s Court.

Article 51 Under the circumstances where evidence may be destroyed or it is difficult to obtain evidence in the future, a copyright holder or a holder of copyright-related rights may, for the purpose of curbing infringement acts, apply to a People’s Court for preservation of evidence prior to filing a lawsuit.

Upon acceptance of an application, a People’s Court shall make a ruling within 48 hours; where a People’s Court ruled that preservation measures shall be adopted, enforcement shall forthwith commence.

A People’s Court may order an applicant to provide guarantee; where an applicant does not provide guarantee, the application shall be rejected.

Where an applicant does not file a lawsuit within 15 days from adoption of preservation measures by a People’s Court, the People’s Court shall lift the preservation measures.

Article 52 People’s Courts may, in the trial of cases on infringement of copyright or copyright-related rights, confiscate illegal income, infringing replicas and assets used in illegal activities.

Article 53 Where the publisher or producer of replicas is unable to prove that the publication or production is legitimately authorised or where the distributor of replicas or the lessor of replicas of film works or works created using methods similar to film making, computer software or audio-visual recordings is unable to prove that the distribution or lease of replicas has a legitimate source, legal liability shall be borne.

Article 54 Where a party concerned has failed to perform contractual obligations or the performance of contractual obligations does not satisfy the agreed criteria, the party concerned shall bear civil liability pursuant to the provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws.

Article 55 A copyright dispute may be settled by mediation, or may be submitted to an arbitration agency for arbitration pursuant to the written arbitration agreement concluded between the parties concerned or the arbitration clause in the copyright contract.

Where there is no written arbitration agreement between the parties concerned, and the copyright contract does not include an arbitration clause, the parties concerned may file a lawsuit directly with a People’s Court.

Article 56 A party concerned who disagrees with an administrative punishment may file a lawsuit with a People’s Court within three months from the date of receipt of the administrative punishment decision; where a party concerned has not filed a lawsuit within the stipulated period and failed to perform the administrative punishment decision, the copyright administrative authorities may apply to a People’s Court for enforcement.

CHAPTER 6 — SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 57 Copyright referred to in this Law shall mean literary property.

Article 58 Publication referred to in Article 2 of this Law shall mean reproduction and distribution of works.

Article 59 The measures for protection of computer software and information network transmission rights shall be separately formulated by the State Council.

Article 60 Where the period of protection of the rights of copyright holders, publishers, performers, producers of audio-visual recordings, radio and television stations stipulated in this Law has yet to expire on the date of implementation of this Law, such rights shall be protected pursuant to this Law.

Infringement or default acts occurred before implementation of this Law shall be dealt with pursuant to the relevant provisions and policies prevailing at the time of occurrence of the infringement or default acts.

Article 61 This Law shall be effective 1 June 1991.